Environmental technician vs surveillance technician

The differences between environmental technicians and surveillance technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an environmental technician and a surveillance technician. Additionally, a surveillance technician has an average salary of $41,279, which is higher than the $39,690 average annual salary of an environmental technician.

The top three skills for an environmental technician include patients, OSHA and hazardous materials. The most important skills for a surveillance technician are ladders, CCTV, and construction sites.

Environmental technician vs surveillance technician overview

	Environmental Technician	Surveillance Technician
Yearly salary	$39,690	$41,279
Hourly rate	$19.08	$19.85
Growth rate	9%	9%
Number of jobs	43,079	13,099
Job satisfaction	-	1
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Average age	38	38
Years of experience	2	2

What does an environmental technician do?

An environmental technician is responsible for identifying, evaluating, preventing, and controlling contamination of the environment. They study how it affects human health with the supervision of environmental engineers and environmental scientists. Environmental technicians work by monitoring the environment and look for possible sources of pollution and contamination that can possibly affect public health. They make sure that environmental violations are prevented. In addition, an environmental technician also investigates any complaint that is related to water quality, air quality, and food safety.

What does a surveillance technician do?

A man without specific skills can't be the perfect man. Surveillance Technician, thus, needs to be tactful. He/She has to possess a wide range of exposure such as technical skills like electrical and video installation knowledge, maintenance skills such as drilling, wiring, cabling, and network administration skills.

Environmental technician vs surveillance technician salary

Environmental technicians and surveillance technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Environmental Technician	Surveillance Technician
Average salary	$39,690	$41,279
Salary range	Between $30,000 And $51,000	Between $30,000 And $55,000
Highest paying City	Danbury, CT	-
Highest paying state	Connecticut	-
Best paying company	City of Detroit	-
Best paying industry	Energy	-

Differences between environmental technician and surveillance technician education

There are a few differences between an environmental technician and a surveillance technician in terms of educational background:

	Environmental Technician	Surveillance Technician
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 44%
Most common major	Environmental Science	Business
Most common college	Duke University	Stanford University

Environmental technician vs surveillance technician demographics

Here are the differences between environmental technicians' and surveillance technicians' demographics:

	Environmental Technician	Surveillance Technician
Average age	38	38
Gender ratio	Male, 73.3% Female, 26.7%	Male, 81.7% Female, 18.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 10.4% White, 56.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 10.4% White, 55.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between environmental technician and surveillance technician duties and responsibilities

Environmental technician example responsibilities.

Lead a crew of twelve techs in various archaeological excavations.
Manage designated areas to ensure proper cleanliness and safety.
Manage daily RCRA inspections and mechanical, electrical, and electronic equipment preventive/corrective maintenance procedures.
Provide contractor oversight, including monitoring of technical performance of sub-contractors managing remedial cleanup projects involving hazardous waste.
Assist with environmental projects such as groundwater monitoring, and spatial analysis using ArcGIS.
Perform physical labor associate with cleanup activities, sample collection, waste removal and other remediation service.

Surveillance technician example responsibilities.

Manage implementation and networking of multi-million dollar tactical datalink architecture consisting of windows base and proprietary systems.
Manage numerous outdoor storage locations for government ammunition stockpiles while simultaneously providing rapid logistical support to facilitate employee training.
Switch over to digital recording which involve IP addressing cameras, video encoders, hard drive arrays, and Cisco switches.
Maintain hardware and software systems and manual records require to successfully perform stock control accounting procedures for ammunition and explosives.
Maintain physical control over all entrances to the SCIF.
Use of DoD equipment and technologies for surveillance monitoring.

Environmental technician vs surveillance technician skills

Common environmental technician skills

Patients, 12%
OSHA, 7%
Hazardous Materials, 6%
Customer Service, 6%
Patient Rooms, 5%
HAZWOPER, 4%

Common surveillance technician skills

Ladders, 10%
CCTV, 8%
Construction Sites, 7%
Surveillance Equipment, 7%
CST, 6%
Security Integrity, 5%

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Environmental Technician
Environmental Technician vs Surveillance Technician

Updated January 8, 2025

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